Holidays are not necessarily for fun or rest. Doing something meaningful can also gain special pleasure. When the final bell rang, the students were reminded that there was no school on Monday—the Labor Day. “Enjoy your extra day off” said the teacher to her class.

An extra day off unsuited Kayla just fine. She loved breaks. She wanted to go out to play with her friends. When the school bus dropped Kayla off, she ran into the house happily.

“How was school, Kayla?” asked her mom.

“It was great, Mom. I am excited about no school on Monday.”

“You just started back to school two weeks ago. Already in need of a break, huh?” asked Kayla’s mom with a laugh.

Kayla slept in the next morning. Saturday was her favorite day of the week. I trained most of the day, so Kayla enjoyed playing videogames inside. On Sunday, her friends came over and they played basketball for several hours.

Then it was Labor Day, you know, the extra day off that Kayla was so looking forward to. But Kayla was awakened early that morning by her dad. He told Kayla that in honor of Labor Day, the family would be cleaning both inside and outside the house. Kayla couldn’t believe it. This was a holiday. A day when she was supposed to be enjoying freshly squeezed lemonade while playing in her tree house. As Kayla wiped here yes, she began to wonder if this was just a bad dream.

“Kayla, your breakfast is ready. We have a lot of work to do today. Let’s get a move on,” said Kayla’s mom. As she sat down at the kitchen table, Kayla asked her parents，

“Are you serious about working today? Isn’t Labor Day a holiday?”

“Yes, Kayla. It is,” replied her dad. “But your mom and I thought working hard today would make you appreciate why Labor Day was observed in the first place.”

At first Kayla felt disappointed at her parents’ plan for the holiday.

But things began to change as she was doing the chores.

A boy named Ali had a large and harmonious family, happily living with his sisters, parents and grandmother. His grandmother loved everyone a lot and was respected by all family members. She was very old, but sometimes she would recall things from her past and share with them. Sometimes they would believe her but at other times they would think that Granny might be mixing up the facts due to her old age.

One day, when Ali was in school, suddenly while knitting (编织), Granny remembered something and she couldn’t contain her emotions so she got up to tell her son — Ali’s father. She walked as fast as she could to his room and said, “You always asked about my birth date, but do you know today is the day when I was born?”

She looked at her son with an excited expression, expecting an immediate response. However, her son wondered how she could remember her date of birth in this old age when she forgot so many other things, so he didn’t pay much attention to this. Disappointed at her son’s reaction, Granny then went to Ali’s mother and Ali’s sister, but like Ali’s father, nobody believed her.

Sadly, she went and sat in the terrace (庭院). When Ali returned from his school, he found his grandmother sitting alone with a sad expression. Ali asked his granny about the matter, but she said there was nothing to worry about. After a lot of persuasion she finally told him what was troubling her — nobody seemed to care that it was her birthday today!

After hearing what Granny said, Ali thought of a plan. Purely by chance, some of Ali’s friends were playing nearby so he shared his plan with them.

A Great Monday

Monday started out well. I woke up on time, ate breakfast and did some last minute studying for my math test later that morning. I was confident of getting good grades. I left my house and ten minutes later, I sat with my friends on the school bus. We were busy chatting about how we spent our weekend. At the next stop, a student named Ryan got on the bus. He was in a rush and tripped (绊倒) over someone’s foot. There was a loud noise as he fell to the floor.

Every one of us on the bus laughed. Ryan got up, brushed his jacket and went to an empty seat. He tried to laugh with us, but his face was red with embarrassment. The rest of the morning went by quickly. I did well in my math test. I read two more chapters of To Kill a Mockingbird in English class. Soon we heard the lunch bell. I met my friends from the cheerleading team in the dining hall. I noticed Ryan a few tables away, sitting by himself. He caught me looking at him. I smiled at him quickly and looked away.

When we finished eating, we went to the courtyard to practice a cheer we would do at that night’s football game. After much practice, we finally managed to do the cheer perfectly. We decided to practice it again one last time. Just like the rest of my day so far, the cheer was going great. I raised my leg for one last toe touch. That was when I felt my jeans (牛仔裤) split (裂开) down the middle of my backside.

I froze. I had no idea what to do. I heard people burst out laughing and I saw them pointing at my torn jeans. I tried to cover myself with my hands, I tried to laugh too, but I felt tears begin to well up in my eyes.

Then I saw Ryan running towards me.

That night, after the cheer at the football game, I found Ryan.

In 1989, fresh out of high school, I had the difficult task of choosing a career path before college started in three months. In those days in Pakistan, there were limited choices: becoming a doctor or an engineer, or entering the financial world after getting a business degree. I wasn’t interested in engineering, so that I was left with medicine or business. I couldn’t decide.

My uncle suggested that I do a work placement(实习) to experience it for a month in an international company followed by a month in a hospital. After that, I could make a decision. It seemed like a good idea.

I was accepted for a month’s placement at a foreign bank in Karachi. I got a feel of how the world of finance functioned, made new friends, and generally enjoyed the mostly easy­going work surroundings.

The month passed rapidly, and soon I began working at a leading hospital in Karachi. The experience couldn’t have been more different. The hospital had a stressful environment. The days started early (at 7 am, compared to 9 am at the bank), and were filled with endless duties. And the night calls! This was crazy, working all day, through the night, and again the next day.

I began thinking about my two experiences. The bank had offered a more relaxing atmosphere, better working hours and less stress. The hospital was full of excitement, but studying and training were difficult. It seemed that the business choice was going to win out.

Near the end of my month at the hospital, I was driving home after an especially busy night call. In front of me was a public bus, with college students sitting on the top. As the driver weaved through (穿梭) traffic, I could see the boys shaking from side to side.

Suddenly, a boy fell off the back of the bus.

The next day, when I went to the hospital to see the boy, all his family got up, with grateful smiles on their faces.

5 . I was ready for bed. My eyes fell on the musical _________ on my bedside table. In it was a photo of Dad smiling, and once opened, it would play his _________ song recorded before his death. It was propped (支撑) open just enough so the recording wouldn’t play.

Dad was a _________ man. He was always singing me his little made-up songs to share joy although he was _________ off-key, not hitting every note.

Dad was a man with big heart. When my house burned down a few years ago, Dad _________ my family into his home. When we tried to offer some _________, he said with his characteristic voice, “Don’t be _________!”

With happy _________, I fell asleep.

“Beautiful and marvelous!”

Suddenly, I was awoken hours later by the _________ song. The card! I snapped it shut (啪的一声合上).

How did that card just start playing? I checked the windows, all tightly shut. But why couldn’t I __________ the feeling that something was wrong?

I decided to __________ downstairs. Opening the door to the laundry room, I was hit with a strong smell of __________. The heat lamp had fallen, and the carpet was burning.

The __________ wasn’t too bad. I let out a shaky breath with __________. What could have happened? Perhaps another house fire. But we were safe. All thanks to Dad’s one-of-a-kind __________.

Having held the interschool (校际) story tell g championship for the past two years, I was the shining star of my school. When it came to choosing the right candidate (候选人) to participate in such competitions, I was always the first choice. Naturally, I was once again selected to represent my school in the approaching contest this year.

Upon hearing the fact that I was chosen again, my classmates and friends acknowledged that I would undoubtedly be the champion again. Consequently, I became conceited (自负的). I was so proud that I ignored the importance of practicing for the contest.

A week before the contest, my teacher Ms. Sara asked, “Selena, would you like to stand in front of the class to rehearse (排练) for the contest?” She had tutored me in the past two competitions and knew how important practice was. “Just imagine you are on the stage

“I’m sorry, Ms. Sara,” I replied. “I have a bit of a sore throat.”

This was usually the lie I would tell whenever my teacher requested me to practice in front of the class. I always found excuses to avoid doing it because I believed that I was the best and therefore the practice was unnecessary. On one occasion, I event old Ms. Sara not to worry too much as I was well prepared for the contest. In fact, I did everything but practice my script (讲稿) .I only managed to glance briefly through the story the day before the contest. As the best storyteller among the students of the local secondary schools, I was too vain to practice and expected everything to be fine.

The contest was being held in the local community hall. On the day of the contest, the hall was crowded with people. My schoolteachers and principal were there along with many of my classmates and schoolmates. I was the eighth contestant out of twenty in total. Those who spoke before me did extremely well. On seeing their fascinating and outstanding performance, I began to lose confidence in myself. My palms (手掌) sweated heavily and I started to feel nervous.

Soon it was my turn to talk.

Finally, I heard the results announced after the contest and felt sad.

7 . In Los Angeles, UPS driver Hector Vesco noticed that while he did his normal route, there was one kid who looked sad.

Once Hector understood why the boy looked upset, he jumped into action. A father of two himself, he knew that he would have to check in with the parents. Using a blank UPS slip, Hector wrote out a note reading, “Hi, this is Hector, your UPS driver. I’ve seen your son plenty of times on the balcony and he seemed very sad that he didn’t get any package. When he asked me if I had any package for him, I told him, ‘Don’t worry. Maybe next time.’ So, anyway, I’ve bought something and put it in box. Just wanted to know his name.” Hector also shared his number so that the parents could contact him directly.

After getting all the information he needed from the mother BrookeWalbuck, Hector showed up the next day and surprised the boy, Langston, with the delivery.

Of course, the gesture of delivering the parcel was nice enough, but it turned out what was inside made it even better! When Langston opened up the box, he found a collection of toy cars and a bunch of candy. It didn’t get much better than that for a little boy.

After the delivery was made, Brooke sent a follow-up text to thank Hector again. In his reply, Hector stated that he had two daughters himself. He kept a bunch of toy cars he had collected over the years. When he met Langston, he knew it was the perfect opportunity to put them to good use.

In his message back to Brooke, he also intentioned that Langston helped him remember how many kids, along with his, had to live through the COVID-19 pandemic (疫情). “Our kids are our world and the future,” he said. “I just want to show some love.”

Before the pandemic, you probably didn’t think too much about the people who delivered your packages. But in times of pandemic, delivery drivers like Hector have some of the most important jobs!

10 . It was time to start my afternoon run on the school bus. I drove up to the elementary school, parked and opened the doors.

Usually I enjoyed________the kids as they climbed aboard. Today I kept my________fixed straight ahead. I’d just come from a(n)________family counseling (辅导) session with my oldest son, Shayn. He started consuming alcohol at 17. I felt________.How did we ever get here? I thought. Shayn was intelligent and had been a ________to raise. The two of us were close.

The kids walked past me onto the bus. One or two said hi. A little girl________a small piece of paper on my lap gently. “This is for you!” she said.

I absent-mindedly________ the folded paper and looked up just in time to see wisps(缕，束) of long blonde hair ________down the aisle(过道).

I’d hoped family counseling would help Shayn quit drinking.________at today’s session, Shayn was angry. He said kids his age drink________and that his drinking was under control. What hope did we have________Shayn couldn’t see that he needed help?

I moved to throw the note in the rubbish can near the driver’s seat, then ________.What if the little girl sees you throw her present away? I thought. So I________it. Inside was a four-leaf clover (四叶草), along with a message written in a child’s hand: “This is filled with________.”

As I read the note, my whole body ________. My thinking changed. I couldn’t control Shayn’s drinking. There was still hope, even when I didn’t know what to do.

I searched my rearview mirror(后视镜) for the child who’d given me the note, but not a single one had long blonde hair.